Page 20 - Our God of Love, Mercy, and Justice

not permitted to interpose, as in the case of Isaac. There was no voice to cry, "It is
enough." To save the fallen race, the King of glory yielded up His life. What
stronger proof can be given of the infinite compassion and love of God? "He that
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32.

The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for
the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless
intelligences of heaven and of other worlds. The field of the controversy between
Christ and Satan--the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out--is the
lesson book of the universe. Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God's
promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having

failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its
blessings. God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to
demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open
more fully before them the plan of salvation.
It had been difficult even for the angels to grasp the mystery of redemption--to
comprehend that the Commander of heaven, the Son of God, must die for guilty man.
When the command was given to Abraham to offer up his son, the interest of all

heavenly beings was enlisted. With intense earnestness they watched each step in the
fulfillment of this command. When to Isaac's question, "Where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?" Abraham made answer, "God will provide Himself a lamb;" and when the
father's hand was stayed as he was about to slay his son, and the ram which God had
provided was offered in the place of Isaac--then light was shed upon the mystery of
redemption, and even the angels understood more clearly the wonderful provision that

God had made for man's salvation. PP 154, 155.

Jacob and Esau
Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac, present a striking contrast, both in
character and in life. PP 177.
Esau had despised the blessings of the covenant. He had valued temporal above
spiritual good, and he had received that which he desired. It was by his own deliberate

choice that he was separated from the people of God. Jacob had chosen the
inheritance of faith. He had endeavored to obtain it by craft, treachery, and
falsehood; but God had permitted his sin to work out its correction. Yet through all
the bitter experience of his later years, Jacob had never swerved from his purpose or
renounced his choice. He had learned that in resorting to human skill and craft to

secure the blessing, he had been warring against God. From that night of wrestling
beside the Jabbok, Jacob had come forth a different man. Self-confidence had been
uprooted. Henceforth the early cunning was no longer seen. In place of craft and
deception, his life was marked by simplicity and truth. He had learned the lesson of

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